Plainville, Mass., residents voting today on slots deal

PLAINVILLE, Mass. -- Residents began turning out early Tuesday morning to vote on a host community agreement that could bring slots to this town just north of the Rhode Island border.

Paul Grimaldi Journal Staff Writer paulegrimaldi

PLAINVILLE, Mass. -- Residents began turning out early Tuesday morning to vote on a host community agreement that could bring slots to this town just north of the Rhode Island border.

An agreement approved by residents is a necessary step in the pursuit of the slots-gambling license, one of four gambling licenses created by Massachusetts with a 2011 measure signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick. The three other licenses are for full-scale casino gambling.

Pursuit of the slots license by Plainridge was thrown into turmoil in August when the Massachusetts Gaming Commission disqualified the harness-racing track's ownership group. An 11th-hour deal by Penn National Gaming to take over the track's application may save the bid -- one of three remaining applicants.

"They were a good applicant without a site and we were a good site without an applicant," said track spokesman Domenic Longobardi as he stood in a light rain outside the Wood School polling station holding two pro-slots signs.

Not everyone hopes his employer is successful.

Mary-Ann Greanier, a leader of the town's anti-slot coalition, said the track's owners hid operational problems from townspeople during negotiations on the agreement, instead insisting on a clause that would allow them to transfer the application.

"Clearly it was because they knew they were in trouble with the gaming commission," she said.

About 130 people had voted at the lone polling station -- an elementary school on Route 106 -- by 8 a.m., according to Plainville Town Clerk Ellen M. Robertson.

In West Springfield today, voters are weighing in on whether to allow a proposal for the lone casino in the western part of the state to move forward. Hard Rock International has proposed a resort casino on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition.

In a related development, after being stalled on Beacon Hill for months, a casino compact between Gov. Deval Patrick and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is getting a push forward.

A legislative committee on Tuesday voted in favor of the compact and sent it the full House and Senate for final approval.

Patrick signed the revised compact with the tribe in March after an earlier agreement was rejected by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. The new deal calls for the state to receive between 15 and 21 percent of gambling revenues if the Mashpee succeed in building a casino in Taunton.

-- with reports from the Associated Press

An earlier version of this report was posted at 9:40 a.m.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.